Malcolm
Centuries-old buildings were lined up along an arch, making up the private academy that had educated some of the world’s brightest minds. I waited in the pickup line where the chauffeurs of many students were already parked. Men in suits and with telltale communication pieces in their ears stood at the ready-to-open doors once the last bell rang.
From their stances alone, I could tell the majority of the men there had military training. These teenagers were better protected than most politicians. Getting through the two checkpoints would have been an issue if Benson hadn’t made a call to his hacker connection to get my license plate number placed on an approved list. Esme was safe here. That gave me a minuscule bit of relief. I could breathe a little easier, but that did nothing for the tightness in my chest.
Adjusting my jacket, I tried in vain to calm my racing heart and thoughts. It had been more than twenty-four hours since I’d last had my eyes on my baby girl. From the moment she’d left the safety of our house, my world had been spinning. I couldn’t go another hour without seeing her. Touching her. Tasting her.
Talking to her on the phone had barely kept me sane last night. At least I got to hear her voice. Her husky laugh. Those sweet, torturous sighs that curled around my cock with a stranglehold. Whether she knew exactly what she was doing or not, I still didn’t know. She gave us an hour to ask questions about her friend. We spent most of that time trying to find out all we could about our little Esme instead.
When she hung up, it had taken everything not to scale the fence surrounding her parents’ estate. But we were supposed to be giving her time. Not rushing her. Not scaring her away or overwhelming her.
Outwardly, I was the epitome of calm. Perfectly put together to blend in like the other personal guards of elite high schoolers. But below the surface, I was quaking, counting the minutes until I could see her again. She wasn’t safe. If we didn’t have eyes on her, she could be snatched away. Stolen from us. I couldn’t take it. Couldn’t hold on. My baby girl needed to be in front of me, cradled in my arms, secure between us.
Not left alone for anyone to harm.
What little Benson’s contact Ghost could find of Eloise Barbier had been enough for us to surmise that she was the stalker from the club, Lizzie. We didn’t know how unhinged she was, but we weren’t going to chance letting her around Esme. Sister or not, blood didn’t mean shit.
At the blaring of the final bell, the sound of heavy doors opening and chatter filtered through my head while I kept vigilant for Esme. The night before had been a kind of agony unlike I’d ever known before. I refused to experience another night like the previous one. Fuck not rushing her. There would be no more waiting. I was the one overwhelmed by not having her close enough to touch.
A steady wave of students made their way out, dressed in the traditional black jacket with the school crest over white polos or button-ups and a mixture of slacks and pleated skirts. I scanned their faces, instantly dismissing them in annoyance as I moved on to the next and the next. Impatience crackled inside me, making me twitchy, urging me to go inside and find her.
From either side of me, I counted the cars that drove away once the guards had their charges secured. Five gone. Seven. Ten. Another three. Even with the thinning of the herd, at least thirty cars were still waiting. Just as many students exited into a separate parking area where they packed into their million-dollar cars. Behind my sunglasses, I tracked them all, scouting for the only person I craved.
Out of my peripheral, I noticed movement, and I shifted my head to find two men walking toward me from their own SUV. Recognition was swift, and irritation began to bubble inside me.
Neither of them spoke as they stopped mere feet away. Giving me a chin lift, they turned to watch the crowd. I’d expected them to run their mouths, tell me to fuck off, even try to fight me.
“She’s coming with me,” I informed them when a full minute passed without either of them acknowledging me further.
“If that’s what she decides,” the one closest to me said with a shrug.
I didn’t know if I should have been relieved that they weren’t giving me a hard time or pissed that they didn’t try harder to protect Esme. What the fuck was the protocol for this situation? Kill them for not protecting her better? Too many witnesses.
“It’s the growly one,” the second one muttered. “She’s gonna go with him.”
“Mal!”
Heart jumping into my throat at how she squealed my name, I turned to find Esme skipping toward me. Ah fuck. She wasn’t wearing her jacket, and her polo didn’t cover her belly. Her skirt was tailored to be at least three inches shorter than what should have been the dress code. But what really got me, what had me mentally biting my fist as she came to me—ran to me—were the knee-high white socks and Mary Janes.
If she’d been in pigtails, I didn’t doubt for a single moment that I would have nutted then and there.
Joy exploded in my chest, easing the tightness that had been growing more and more with each passing hour away from her. She launched herself at me as soon as she was close enough, her legs wrapping around my waist as her backpack dropped to the ground. Her laugh filled the air, along with my soul.
Grasping her ass in both hands, I pressed a kiss to her forehead when what I wanted to do was devour her mouth. After all the sins I’d committed, the blood I’d spilled, the carnage I’d left behind, I didn’t know how I’d been blessed with the gift of Esme, but I’d commit a million more sins just to keep her.
“I missed you so much,” she breathed, hugging her arms around my shoulders while burying her face in my neck. “It feels like forever since I saw you, instead of only yesterday.”
Hearing the raw emotion in her voice caused my throat to close up. Rubbing my hands down her back, I rocked her in my arms, fighting the lump that clogged my airway. “Missed you too, baby girl.”
Esme lifted her head, her smile so bright it blocked out everything else. Christ, she was gorgeous. It wasn’t just an outer shell of pretty either. Not like most women, who tried to glam up the outside to hide the rot on the inside. Esme’s beauty went deeper. It had called to something in me from the moment I first saw her. My entire life, nothing had felt more right than holding Esme.
She scratched her nails lightly up and down my neck. “I don’t know how you got on the grounds, but I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been thinking about you all day.”
“We each gave you our personal numbers, baby girl. If you miss me, or any of us, we want you to call or text. I never don’t want to hear your voice or see your messages on my phone. I need to know when you miss me, Esme.”
“I can’t text you every minute we aren’t together, Daddy.”
It took a solid five seconds before her words clicked in my head. “I miss you every minute we’re not together too, baby girl.”
Smacking a kiss on my lips, she wiggled to get down. Reluctantly, I placed her on her feet and noticed her two guards had moved to stand behind her. Their backs were to us, but they had blocked us while she was in my arms.
No, I realized they had shifted to hide Esme’s ass from everyone. Her skirt had lifted, exposing her tiny panties covering that utopian pussy. I’d been so caught up in the moment of having her back in my arms that I didn’t consider all the horny pricks walking around campus getting a free look at Esme’s ass.
Christ, I would have lost my fucking mind if anyone had seen her cute little panties. Or her perfect backside. But I wasn’t thinking about other people while she was in my arms. It was a first for me. My time in the military made me hyperaware of my surroundings and those nearby. Esme short-circuited my brain, making it impossible to have a clear thought past how much I loved this girl anytime she was close enough to touch.
I adjusted her skirt, turning her around so I could double-check everything was carefully hidden away. Her guards shifted with her, their bodies becoming human shields to wandering eyes and other dangers.
As much as I hated the thought of any man but her daddies being around my baby girl, I had to admit I was pleased with how those two protected Esme. We would have to wait and see if I could continue to remain rational about them, but if their presence made Esme happy, I wouldn’t press Benson to replace them with female guards.
Of the three of us, Parker was the more rational-minded, whereas I was the one most likely to turn feral. If I could handle these particular guys watching over Esme when we couldn’t, then my friends wouldn’t have much problem with them either.
Taking Esme’s hand, I lifted it to my lips, putting all thoughts besides her and our planned evening together aside. “How about a little aerial trip around the city in my bird, baby girl?”
Excitement brightened her face even more. “Really?” I nodded as I opened the passenger door of my SUV for her. “Will you teach me how to fly?”
“If you want to learn, I will gladly teach you. But not in the city. There are too many buildings for a beginner. This weekend, I’ll take you out to the private airstrip we have. There’s a field close by that is perfect for lessons. If the wind cooperates, we can start your training.”
I wanted to teach her a million different things, but if she wanted to start with flying, that was fine with me. I lifted her, placing her in the seat before stretching the seat belt across her body. Her breath hitched as I pressed into her, making sure it was secure. Drawing back, I was going to kiss her, but something caught my attention.
Her knee-high socks had rolled down a few inches and there was a mean bruise on her leg that hadn’t been there the day before. Tracing my thumb around the area, I felt my stomach clench and roll, not liking the sight darkening her skin. Whatever had caused such a large, deep injury must have hurt. Just the thought of her having even a moment of pain fucked with my head. “How did this get here, baby girl?”
“Oh, that? It’s nothing. Just crashed into something hard after nearly falling down the stairs. It doesn’t even hurt.” She grabbed my tie, tugging my head closer, distracting me from inspecting the injury more thoroughly. “Daddy, I need kisses.”
As long as I lived, there would never be a time when this girl said, “Daddy, I need…” and I wouldn’t fulfill it for her. Dropping my head, I captured her mouth, tasting her the way I’d been thinking of all night.
Everything around us disappeared as her lips moved against mine, her mouth opening just enough to give me a tease of her tongue. With a groan, I deepened our kiss, my hands diving into her silky dark hair, tilting her head to give me better access. She gave me control, allowed me to devour and taste and worship that sweet mouth until we were both gasping for breath.
Breaking the kiss, I rolled my forehead against hers.
“You don’t realize it yet, baby girl, but you’ve already given me everything I’ve ever wanted. Now, I’m going to give you the sky.”